


In Memory Of Me, Myself, And I

by thatsnotmyname32



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Changing the Time Line, F/M, Memories, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, can't think of more for now, technically
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-01-05 12:41:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21208709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatsnotmyname32/pseuds/thatsnotmyname32
Summary: Usagi wakes up one night, memories of both the Silver Millennium and Neo Tokyo in her head. How will having these memories change her future as Sailor Moon, as well as the future of Neo Crystal Tokyo? UsaXMamo, manga based with personal tweaks.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! New story for you! Manga based (cuz I’m loving that lately) but also probably with my own tweaks. Also, next chapter’s nearly done.

One morning, an eleven year old Usagi woke up with a whole new set of memories in her head.

Well, two actually. One set was from a thousand years ago, and the other seemed to be from a thousand years into the future. It was weird and confusing, and she wondered briefly if this was a sign that she was going crazy. But then what could have possibly happened to trigger that? She worried over it all day, until she lay in bed that night, going over what she remembered.

A thousand years ago, she was a Princess. At least, that’s what the memories said. On the moon. _The moon_. Did anyone even live on the moon? _Could_ they? Things she’d learned from school, and the occasional program on the television said that _no_, there was no way that anyone had _ever_ lived on the moon. It was _impossible_.

Right?

But the memories disagreed, no matter what logic was applied. So, she cast logic aside so that she could concentrate on the memories, and not the impossibility of an entire living, breathing solar system.

So, if she was that Princess then, did that mean reincarnation was real? Usagi was raised with Shinto beliefs, and accordingly did not believe in reincarnation. Sure, there was a lot of it in her manga, but that didn’t mean she granted it any _real_ credibility. It was just fiction, after all! Thinking about all the existentialism hurt her head, so she put it aside for now.

The second set of memories from the future, unlike the past ones, were _her_. Usagi. As a _Q__ueen_. The idea of living for a thousand plus years, and remaining as youthful and _beautiful_ as ever (she did a fist pump at the idea of being beautiful when she was older, not to mention _tall_) was just as out there as the whole reincarnation thing. A little easier to accept, perhaps, since it was Usagi, and not some obscure princess.

With all the thoughts whirling around in her head, Usagi took a little longer to fall asleep that night, but still slept soundly when she finally did.

The next day at school, Usagi’s attention was wandering, as it had started to lately. School had been losing its interest for her. But now with these extra memories, Usagi felt like she needed to pay attention, though she was struggling to do so. When her sensei called on her for an answer, she surprised both of them with the correct answer. The warmth that bloomed in Usagi’s chest when her sensei smiled and told her she was correct was a starting point for her to want to do better. So she did.

Usagi was never going to be a straight A student, but hopefully she wouldn’t be the girl the future her remembered almost failing out of school by fourteen.

Shortly after ‘receiving’ the memories, Usagi took up drawing. And then painting. She started out with graphite pencils, then moved to charcoal, coloured pencils and watercolour pencils, then paint. She sketched out images of the Princess and her Prince, of the Queen and her King. Of the beautiful yet ethereal Moon Kingdom. Of the sparkling and futuristic Neo Tokyo. Of the rose garden in the earth kingdom that had helped draw her attention to a certain Prince. Of the moon blossoms that grew in the garden outside her bedroom in the Moon Palace.

Of her mother, Queen Selenity of the Moon. Of her Senshi, both past and future. Of Luna and Artemis. Of her daughter, Princess Usagi Small Lady Serenity. Of Naru and Umino, all grown up with two beautiful children of their own. Of her spore of a brother, bright and happy on his own wedding day. Of Sailor Moon and her Senshi battling Beryl, then Wiseman, and many others. Of the Three Lights, with the images of their Senshi forms behind them. Of Galaxia. Of Cosmos. Of Chaos and the galaxy cauldron.

Usagi’s parents simply thought she had a very active imagination, and several of her pieces were ‘archived’ in the family vault, that being a ‘very special’ box to store ‘Usagi memories’. Usagi reluctantly handed over a few pieces, but stubbornly held onto the others, creating her own portfolio of the memories.

Some of the memories were rather disturbing, she _was_ only eleven when they came to her, after all. So Usagi asked her parents if she could take some self defence classes. She figured they’d come in handy if Luna really did come calling one day. Her mother was all for it, though her father was a little reluctant, until Usagi shamelessly mentioned in passing about boys one day hitting on her, then he was all for it.

Usagi and her mother only grinned at one another.

Jujitsu was what they settled on, and Usagi decided it was perfect, considering how everything was apparently going to go down. She loved it, it made her feel in control of herself, ready for what seemed to be coming. There was still that small part of her that was hoping that all of her future memories were just dreams, and that it wasn’t actually going to happen. But then one day, that hope was dispelled. She wasn’t _too_ broken up about it, though. _Honestly_.

One day when she was thirteen, Usagi was walking down the street, on her way to school. She was allowed to walk to school on her own now that she was a _teenager_, even though she’d started middle school at twelve. Her mother had finally decided she was _mature_ enough and trustworthy enough to get there and back again on her own. So Usagi was all smiles and sunshine, despite the threat of rain overhead.

Soon, the path she was taking began to niggle at her. There was something… familiar about it. Curiously, she looked around, and that’s when she saw it. The Crown Arcade Game Centre, with its game machines, milkshakes, and even the café with that disgusting thing called _coffee_. A chill went up Usagi’s spine as she stared in and saw… Furuhata Motoki. That was his name, right? Memories of crushing on him for a year came back to her, and she smiled slightly, remembering his obliviousness to it all.

Then, she wondered if _he_ was in there.

No, he should be on his way to school. In fact, Motoki-san should be, too. Usagi frowned, and wondered why he wasn’t, then shook her head. None of her business, after all. Usagi spent the day trying to decide if she should go there after school or not, and in the end, stood before the doors of the arcade, coins in hand and Naru rolling her eyes and reaching out to push her inside…


	2. First Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Usagi wakes up one night, memories of both the Silver Millennium and Neo Tokyo in her head. How will having these memories change her future as Sailor Moon, as well as the future of Neo Crystal Tokyo? UsaXMamo, manga based with personal tweaks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya! New chapter! So, this was mostly done since I'd posted the fic originally, but it's undergone a slight rewrite during the intervening time. But it's done now, I hope you all like it! :)

“Ow! Naru-chan! What was that for?”

“You’re too slow, Usagi-chan,” Naru scolded. “_You_ were the one who was telling me all about this place, but you didn’t want to go in?”

Usagi rubbed her elbow where it had collided with the door. “I was _savouring_ the moment,” she pouted. “This is monumental, Naru-chan! We’ve stepped foot into a sacred fountain of fun! It needs to be _revered_!”

Naru rolled her eyes. “Whatever, Usagi-chan,” she said. “Let’s just find some good games and settle in, ne?”

Usagi grinned and did as Naru suggested.

Soon enough, Usagi noted Motoki from the corner of her eye, coming down to do… whatever it was he was doing. Cleaning? Fixing stuff? She had no idea. All she knew was that she’d _almost _beaten the level in the game before her, when Naru appeared out of nowhere and startled her.

“Hey Usagi-chan!” she greeted to Usagi’s surprised squawk. “Check out the hottie who just came in from downstairs!”

After whacking Naru’s arm for surprising her, Usagi obediently looked over to where Motoki was chatting idly with some kid. “Wow!” she said, nodding in agreement. “A hottie, for sure.” Then her eyes narrowed with slyness and she asked, “You gonna ask him out, Naru-chan?”

Naru predictably went red. “N-no!” she exclaimed. “I m-mean, maybe? He looks like he’s in high school… Isn’t that a bit old for me?”

“That’s not what you said when you tried to get Hanako-chan to admit she liked that high-school guy last week,” Usagi grinned at her.

Naru humphed. “Whatever,” she said. “He’s not my type, anyway. In fact, he might be more _your_ type!”

Usagi sputtered. “What do you mean by that?” she demanded a little shrilly, inadvertently calling Motoki’s attention to them.

Wandering over from the kid he’d finished talking to, he greeted them, “Well, hello there, I don’t think I’ve seen you two here before.”

“This is our first time here,” Naru gushed at him, eyelashes fluttering, even as Usagi mentally called her a hypocrite. “I’m Osaka Naru, this is Tsukino Usagi. What’s your name? Do you work here?”

Motoki chuckled. “Furuhata Motoki,” he introduced. “And yes, I work here some mornings, as well as after school and weekends. My family owns the place, actually.”

Naru’s eyes went wide. “Really?” she asked. “That’s marvellous! It must be _incredible_ working here!”

Motoki laughed a bit more, scratching the back of his head. “It’s not too bad,” he agreed. “Speaking of, I’ve got to get back upstairs. You two make sure you come up and try out our milkshakes, alright?”

Naru nodded enthusiastically, waving as Motoki left. When she turned back to a grinning Usagi, she blushed.

“Not your type, huh?” Usagi said slyly.

“Shut up, Usagi-chan,” was Naru’s long-suffering reply, though she grinned to take any heat out of it.

Once Naru decided that they’d played enough, the two went upstairs to the café, where Motoki waved at them from behind the counter. Upstairs looked exactly like Usagi _knew_ it would; from the posters in the windows, to the machinery behind the counter, to the booth that she would one day sit in with her Senshi, alternating between gossiping and talking in hushed whispers about battles against whomever they were facing at the time.

Naru dragged her over to the barstools at the counter, and Usagi ended up on the one that _he_ would often sit on. Nervously she sat, twiddling her fingers and wondering if _he_ was going to come in or not. Motoki came over with a smile, placing Usagi’s chocolate shake in front of her, and Naru’s caramel one in front of her excitedly bouncing best friend.

“Calm down, Naru-chan,” Usagi said after taking a particularly long slurp of paradise. “The shake’s not gonna go anywhere.”

Naru stuck her tongue out, then took her own long slurp of dairy goodness. “Heaven…” she sighed dreamily, and Usagi giggled.

Once they were done, Naru declared, “We’ve _got_ to come back here, and bring Yumiko-chan and Kuri-chan too! Usagi-chan, I hereby declare this our official ‘after school’ hang-out!”

Usagi giggled. “Agreed,” she said, then caught Motoki’s attention for another shake.

OoOoO

Time rolled by, and three months before she was due to become Sailor Moon, Usagi finally saw _him_. He was standing outside the Crown, looking like he was seriously debating on whether or not to go in. She knew that he and Motoki were already friends, had been for a few years. Memories of _him_ talking with her about his friendship with the arcade worker told her that he hadn’t gone to the arcade all that often before he’d met her. Finally, as she watched and mused, he stepped inside.

Once he was out of sight, Usagi released the breath she hadn’t realised that she was holding, and brought a hand to her chest, breathing deeply in order to calm her wildly beating heart. She wasn’t ready to meet him, not really, so instead of going into the arcade, she turned tail and ran home. She _had_ actually intended to go inside, but her panic changed her plans. Once she was home, she bolted up to her room, slamming the door closed and leaning against it, lungs burning from how fast she’d run.

Her mother followed her up the stairs a moment later. “Usagi-chan? You okay?” she asked through the door.

Usagi opened the door, bright smile on her face. “I’m fine, kaa-san!” she said brightly. “Just ran here _really_ fast, you know?”

Tsukino Ikuko nodded, though her eyes still looked a little uncertain. “Alright,” she said. “Dinner’s in three hours, make sure your homework’s done by then.”

Usagi nodded, then closed her door, gently this time, and went to do as her mother asked.

OoOoO

It was just over a week after the incident that she finally did come properly face to face with _him_, not that she had intended for it to happen. Usagi had attempted to avoid the Arcade, but Naru hadn’t let her. So instead, she’d entered the establishment with trepidation, relieved when nothing happened. At least, until now. Eight days after laying eyes on him outside the Arcade, and here she was, sitting in a booth, sipping her milkshake and gossiping with Naru, Yumiko, and Kuri. Just minding her own (and everyone else in her grade at school’s) business, really.

As they chatted, Usagi was absentmindedly sketching in one of her art books, a picture of Motoki behind the counter with that warm and welcoming smile of his. The thought of doing a canvas version and giving it to him for his next birthday popped idly into her head, even as the chimes above the door to the parlour rang. Usagi ignored it, at least until she heard a voice that had her pencil stilling over Motoki’s half finished shoulder.

Almost fearfully, she glanced up and saw _Chiba Mamoru_ standing at the counter, talking with Motoki.

Usagi could swear her heart stopped beating for a moment, before it began to pound loudly in her ears. He was _right over there_, chatting with Motoki, who was working the coffee machine as they talked. Soon enough, he had a cup of that _disgusting_ brew (Usagi remembered actually_ liking_ it in the future, as terrible as the idea of it was to her now, preferring a caramel and chocolate blend that had made the coffee a lot more bearable in the beginning) in front of him.

A hand waving in front of her face snapped her out of it.

“Usagi-chan?” Kuri said, hand waving rather close to Usagi’s nose. “You in there?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m here,” Usagi grumbled. “What were you talking about?”

“Just about Umino-kun and his latest antics,” Naru said, then she glanced over to where Usagi had been staring a moment ago, and her look turned sly. “But never mind that. Were you staring at the guy at the counter, Usagi-chan?”

“What? No!” a red faced Usagi denied.

“Ooh, I think she was!” Yumiko cooed, and glanced over at him as well. “He’s cute! Wow, you’ve got good taste, Usagi-chan!”

“Probably why she keeps turning Umino-kun down,” Kuri giggled.

“It’s not like that!” Usagi denied vehemently. “I _wasn’t_ staring! Stop looking at me like that!”

Her three so-called friends giggled at her. “You should go talk to him,” Naru said.

“What?” Kuri said. “He looks _older_, Naru-chan! Like… like… _twenty_ or something!”

“Really?” Yumiko said, cocking her head and studying Mamoru’s profile. Or at least, what they could see of it. “I think he looks closer to our age, maybe a _little_ older. You need your eyes checked, Kuri-chan.”

Kuri squinted said eyes at him, even as Usagi buried her face in her arms, willing her cheeks to stop flaming. “Leave me alone,” she muttered. “I’m _not_ going over there!”

“Why not, Usagi-chan?” Naru asked, voice filled with curiosity. “Yumiko-chan’s right, he’s cute. Don’t you want to see if you have a chance?”

Truth of the matter was, Usagi was just too _terrified_ to go over and talk to him. The idea of him and her… it scared her. Even though she knew how happy he could make her, how fulfilled. But maybe that was the problem. Her expectations were high, she had an _ideal_ of him in her mind. What if he wasn’t like the memories said? Then there was the fact that he’d called her _Odango Atama_ for the longest time…

Was it really worth it? A small voice in her head whispered, _yes, yes_. Usagi peeked out from the safety of her arms, staring at his back as he chatted with Motoki.

“Come on, Usagi-chan,” Naru said. “Couldn’t hurt to try. I mean, the worst that could happen is that he doesn’t acknowledge you, then you can just wait until a better guy comes along.”

Was there really anyone better than her Prince, her _soul mate_? She sat up. “Fine,” she huffed, but didn’t move.

At least, not until Kuri, who was sitting next to her, pushed her out of her seat. “Eek! Don’t do that!” Usagi shrieked.

“Go up there!” Kuri scolded her. “Use the excuse of getting us another round of milkshakes, if you have to.”

“Oh, great idea, Kuri-chan!” Yumiko cheered, though Usagi decided that she probably only thought that because she’d get another milkshake.

…Usagi could see the benefit in that too.

So, squaring her shoulders and clutching her sketch pad (which she’d still had in her grasp, despite everything), she marched over to the counter…

…only to smack right into him, as he’d apparently stood and turned to leave.

“Ow...eh!”

Usagi fell backwards, just _waiting_ to hit the floor, but a pair of hands shot out, and the next thing she knew, she was suddenly pulled up against a _very _firm chest. (she heard her friends gasp, and then squeal in the background)

“Oomph!”

Usagi was still for a couple of seconds, then she looked up into the blue, blue eyes of the boy, no, the _man_, who held her close. “Ummm, hello,” she greeted, secretly surprised that she had any ability to talk at all.

The hands grasping her shoulders released her, and she stepped back as he chuckled. (Usagi’s heart beat even faster, if that were possible) “Hello,” he returned. “Sorry I almost knocked you down there.”

“Oh, that’s okay,” Usagi said, waving it off, then looked on in horror as Mamoru bent down to pick up her dropped sketch book.

There were pictures of _him_ in there!

“Usagi-chan!” came the voice of her saviour, in the form of Motoki. “Did you and your friends need anything? Oh, have you met my friend Chiba Mamoru?”

Usagi turned to Mamoru and bowed. “Nice to meet you, Chiba-san.”

Mamoru bowed slightly also. “And you, Usagi-chan,” he told her, handing back her sketches without looking at them, thankfully.

Usagi turned to Motoki, fully aware of Mamoru’s eyes on her. “Can we get another round of shakes, Motoki-san?” she asked.

“Sure thing, Usagi-chan,” Motoki said. “Two chocolate, one caramel, one strawberry, correct? I’ll bring them over when they’re done, alright?”

Usagi nodded, then all courage leaving her, headed back over to their booth.

As she slid into her seat, Yumiko hissed, “What are you doing back here? You’re supposed to talk with him!”

“I lost my nerve, alright,” Usagi hissed back.

“Give her a break, at least she did talk to him,” Naru said, then went into swoon mode. “And he held you to his chest! Kawaii! I’m telling you, it’s destiny, Usagi-chan! Destiny!”

Of course, she had no idea how right she actually was.

OoOoO

For the next two and a half months, Usagi regularly saw Mamoru at the arcade. Their interactions were always brief but civil, and the Odango Atama nickname had yet to make an appearance. Maybe it wasn’t going to? Usagi could only hope. Usagi’s birthday came and went, and she was fourteen now. _Luna_ was just around the corner, along with senshi-hood.

In fact, the day before she’d trod on her in the street, Usagi could swear she saw the feline following her from her jujitsu class. She was _so_ nervous about the upcoming battles, and still wasn’t sure if she was going to tell Luna anything about her memories. How would she react to the news that the girl she thought was a Senshi was _actually_ the Princess? There’d been a little disbelief when Luna’d found out she was the Princess the first time around, followed by a protectiveness that melted Usagi’s (admittedly easily melted) heart.

Usagi seriously considered turning around at that point and going straight to confront the cat, but stopped herself. Letting things play out normally was probably the best solution, at least for now. Maybe later, she could tell her? As it was, she knew Naru’s mother had already been replaced by a youma, and as scared as she was for what was coming, Usagi wanted the power to save her friend. Becoming Sailor Moon would give her that strength.

As she went to bed that night, her last thought was that maybe she _wouldn’t_ be late for school this time around.


	3. Second Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Usagi wakes up one night, memories of both the Silver Millennium and Neo Tokyo in her head. How will having these memories change her future as Sailor Moon, as well as the future of Neo Crystal Tokyo? UsaXMamo, manga based with personal tweaks.

Usagi was having a lovely dream about a romantic picnic that King Endymion took her on, when her alarm blared and she shot up in bed.

“Aw, man!” she whined, then looked at the clock. “At least I’m up on time, I suppose.”

She got up and grabbed her clothes, headed straight for the door. As soon as she got out of her room, she broke into a run, beating Shingo to the bathroom, sticking her tongue out at him and making a victory sign, before slamming the door shut in his face.

“Usagi-baka!” Shingo yelled. “Don’t you _dare_ take too long!”

She heard him stomp back to his room, and Usagi grinned triumphantly as she got everything ready for her shower. Once she was done, she high-tailed it back to her room, sitting in front of her vanity and putting her hair up in her trademark do. Then she checked to make sure the room was just presentable enough so that her mother wouldn’t scold her when she got home later, putting manga back in her bookcase, scooping up rogue clothes into her ‘laundry’ basket, and clearing up loose sheaves of art paper. Finally, she grabbed her bag and headed downstairs for breakfast.

“Good morning, Usagi-chan!” Ikuko trilled, waving her spatula at her. “Sit down, I’ll bring your breakfast to you in a moment, dear.”

“What’s your first class today, Usa-chan?” Kenji asked, peering at his daughter from behind his paper.

“English,” Usagi groaned. “And we’re probably gonna get the results of that surprise quiz back today!”

“I’m sure you did well,” Kenji said. “You’ve got a good average at school, your mother and I are very proud of you.”

Usagi blushed happily as her mother placed a plate filled with a traditional Japanese breakfast in front of her, and she started shovelling rice, miso, and natto into her mouth.

She was halfway through her food when Shingo finally came downstairs, making a derisive comment about her ‘eating habits’. Usagi kicked his shin for that, then he kicked back, initiating a foot war until their mother put a stop to it. Once Usagi was done, she stood, bowed in thanks for the food, then grabbed her school bag and lunch. She kissed her parents goodbye, slapped Shingo ‘affectionately’ upside the back of his head, then took off. Stepping out of the front door, she smiled happily before setting off in the direction of school.

As she passed by the Crown Arcade, Usagi bumped into someone coming out of the doors, and stumbled backwards. “Careful there, Usagi-chan,” came Mamoru’s voice, and she looked up at him as he’d reached out to steady her.

Motoki, who’d come out with him, greeted her as well. “Good morning Usagi-chan!” he said. “Mamoru-kun, I’ll see you later. Will I be seeing you in here after school, Usagi-chan?”

Usagi shrugged. “Maybe,” she said. “I have jujitsu this afternoon, so we’ll see.”

Motoki nodded and went back in side. “How does he ever get to his classes on time?” Usagi wondered.

“His classes at the University start an hour later than ours do,” came the answer, reminding Usagi that Motoki was actually two years older than Mamoru.

“Oh,” was all she said.

She started walking, noting that Mamoru was walking along with her, and she felt her heart beat a little faster with nerves. Usagi knew their schools were basically in the same direction, at least until you got to that corner with the hairdressers that her mother frequented. And indeed, when they reached that spot, he moved to head down that way. He paused though, and looked at her with a weird expression that she didn’t really want to read too deeply into.

“See you later, Usagi-chan,” he said, then he was gone, lost in the crowds of pedestrian commuters.

“Uh, bye,” was all she managed, though she doubted he’d heard her.

Usagi walked almost in a daze after that, occasionally stopping and starting in her stupor, and not really paying attention to where she was going. It was because of that, that she _almost_ stepped on a black cat splayed out on the footpath before her. A meow was what alerted her to the fact that her foot was about to trod on the feline.

“Oh!” she exclaimed, then felt herself freeze when it dawned on her… _This was Luna!_

The feline from Mau stared woefully up at her, before reaching up with a paw, trying to get the band-aid on her head loose. Usagi knelt in front of her, reaching out to pull the offending item off. Luna flinched back as the band-aid no doubt pulled some of her fur with it, and when it was done, she stared up at Usagi. Their gazes held for a full minute, before Usagi internally shook herself and stood.

“You should get home, neko-chan,” she said, then stepped past her.

She started walking in the direction of her school again, pausing briefly to look back at Luna, who was staring at her rather intensely. Usagi almost went back to her, to tell her _everything_, but restrained herself and took off for school, aware that Luna was going to be following her for the rest of the day.

With all the delays of running into Motoki and Mamoru, her daze, and the interaction with Luna, Usagi had only just sat in her seat when their sensei walked into the room. Haruna-sensei called attendance, then handed out marked versions of the test they’d had the other day. Usagi closed her eyes briefly, hoping that she’d at least gotten seventy percent, and not ruined her average. Sensei _had_ said that she was going to take the results into account for the final grade of this semester. She was totally unprepared for that quiz, but then so were many others.

She opened her eyes and glanced down at the big red seventy-four percent.

Phew!

Naru leaned over and whispered, “What did you get, Usagi-chan?”

Usagi held her paper up, and noticed that Naru breathed a sigh of relief too. “That’s great!” she whispered. (the teacher was still handing out papers and, in some cases, chastising her students) “That’s not gonna hurt your average, is it?”

Usagi shook her head. “I wish Haruna-sensei had given us warning, and time to study, though,” she said. “Then I probably would have gotten an eighty, maybe? What did you get?”

Naru showed her her eighty-five, which was about five or so points lower than her usual score. Naru was incredibly smart, after all, though not as smart as Umino, or even Ami, wherever she was right now.

“I got a ninety-five!” Umino declared, popping up as if from nowhere. “Of course, I didn’t really get a chance to study, so that’s why my grade’s so low!”

He laughed in that annoying way he had that made everyone feel as though he was lording it over them, even though they knew it was just the way that he laughed. But Usagi still sighed mournfully as she stared down at her grade, paying no mind to when their sensei came over to scold Umino for disrupting the class. Still, at least it wasn’t _thirty_. She shivered at the thought…

Classes went smoothly, and at lunch she sat eating with Naru, Yumiko, and Kuri. Umino turned up at one point, when they were discussing some recent jewellery store thefts. “There was another robbery last night,” Yumiko was saying. “It wasn’t far from here, either. There’s a lot more of them happening lately.”

“Scary,” Naru said, and it probably was for her, considering she lived above her mother’s jewellery store.

“You don’t need to worry, Naru-chan!” Umino declared. “Sailor V-san has been catching the criminals lately!”

“Who’s Sailor V?” Usagi asked, even though she knew full well.

“Are you kidding, Usagi-chan?” Umino said. “She’s _really_ famous! She’s a Sailor Suited Soldier of Justice, fighting crime in a sailor outfit! She’s all over the news, and there’s even rumours that she’s an agent of the police department, or even a super secret government agency!”

“Conspiracy nerd!” Kuri guffawed at him, but he naturally ignored her.

“Seriously, though, there’s all sorts of criminal stories coming up on the news!” Umino went on. “You’ve got to keep yourself in the loop to stay protected!”

“You know, I can sorta understand breaking into a jewellery store,” Yumiko said, stars suddenly in her eyes.

“All those beautiful gems!” Kuri agreed. “I’d like a diamond ring!”

“Naru-chan lives in a jewellery store,” Usagi reminded them. “And besides, rubies are the best! And pearls too.”

“We’ve actually got a sale going on right now,” Naru said. “Started yesterday, and the prices are actually affordable!”

“Wow!” Yumiko exclaimed. “We’ve got to check it out after school!”

“Absolutely!” Kuri agreed, and both Usagi and Naru sighed in resignation, for different reasons.

“Fine,” Naru said. “You guys can come check it out after school.”

Yumiko and Kuri squealed in joy, even as Usagi’s insides twisted in dreadful anticipation.

OoOoO

After school, Usagi found herself being dragged along by an eager Kuri and Yumiko, with Naru a victim of their dragging as well. Yumiko stuck her face to the window, ogling the gems inside. Naru sighed, even as Kuri giggled.

“Come on, stop drooling over the display,” Kuri said to her best friend. “Let’s go _inside_!”

The two marched arm in arm into the store, Naru and Usagi close behind them. As soon as they were in, Usagi noticed something that the memories of her future self apparently never had. A dark, oppressive air, all centred on the woman in the middle of the store with the megaphone. _Why _had she felt it?

“Step right up, ladies!” the monster masquerading as Osaka-san called out. “We have fifty percent off, seventy percent off! There’s something for everyone today! Marked items only!”

Then she saw Usagi and Naru standing off to the side, and waved over to them. “Naru-chan!” she called. “You brought your friends! Well, come on over! I’ll give your friends an extra discount!”

“Really?” Yumiko said, appearing out of nowhere. “Thank you so much, Osaka-san!”

“No problem!” was the reply, then the _fake_ went back to her pedestal and megaphone.

“Are you going to get anything?” Kuri asked Usagi, but she shook her head.

“I don’t actually have any money on me,” she said, then glanced at the clock. “Besides, I have to get to my jujitsu class, it’s starting in twenty minutes.”

Yumiko pouted, and Kuri sighed. “Alright, see you in class tomorrow, Usagi-chan,” she said, then the two disappeared back into the throng.

Usagi gave Naru a hug and then left, giving the fake Osaka-san another ‘look’ before heading out the door. She looked left, looked right, then back to the left, because right there was Mamoru, dressed in a tuxedo and sunglasses, eye-balling the jewellery store. And she knew why, too. The _ginzuishou_. But he wasn’t going to find it in any store or private collection, it was safely tucked away deep inside of her, where it was _going to stay_. Usagi had never had any intention of unsealing the ginzuishou before she was supposed to. Before she was _ready_.

She was going to leave then, but he glanced over and saw her. There was a slightly startled look on his face at first, then the one he’d been wearing lately that made her feel uncomfortable. He smiled slightly, then stepped over to her.

“Usagi-chan,” he greeted. “I thought you had jujitsu today?”

“I’m headed there now,” she told him, then just _had_ to ask, “What on earth are you wearing a tuxedo for? And in the middle of the day?”

“What? You don’t think I look _dashing_?” he asked, a full blown smirk on his face.

Usagi rolled her eyes. “It’s a _tux_,” she said. “During the _day_. That’s just not done, you know. Tuxedos are generally for formal _night_ wear.”

Mamoru shrugged. “I had drama for my last class of the day, and didn’t feel like changing,” he told her, and Usagi couldn’t tell if it was the truth or not.

She shrugged. “If you say so,” she said, then turned to walk off. “See you later, Mamoru-san.”

Usagi had taken maybe five steps, before Mamoru caught up with her and fell into step with her. “Wait, I’ll walk with you,” he said.

Usagi’s heart was hammering in her chest, just as it had that morning when he’d walked with her. “Wh-why are you walking with me?” she asked.

“I just want to,” Mamoru said. “Is… That is alright, isn’t it?”

Usagi shrugged as nonchalantly as she could. “I guess,” she told him.

Along the way, Usagi cast the occasional glance at him, catching his eyes once as he was apparently doing the same. What was going on? Did he… _like_ her already? _That _way? Her heart thumped even louder in her ears at that idea. Her fingers twitched as she restrained from reaching out for his hand, an impulse she blamed squarely on her _memories_. Both Serenity’s in her head were urging her to reach out for him, but Usagi held back.

Mamoru, it turned out, didn’t seem to have that same restraint, as after the fifth or sixth twitch of her fingers, he reached out and grasped her hand. Usagi jerked slightly, but didn’t pull away, and they stayed like that all the way to her jujitsu class.

OoOoO

Later that evening, Usagi laid on her bed, her mind racing over the events of the day. Luna was here, and would likely be coming in through her window as soon as all lights were out in the house. Yumiko and Kuri had probably bought jewellery from Osa-P, and were, in all likelihood, having their energy drained as we speak. The Dark Kingdom monster… who knew what was happening with it and Naru? And Mamoru… Mamoru had _held her hand_!

The lack of an antagonistic meeting and the name calling… he _liked_ her!

Usagi sighed and rolled over, burying her head in her pillow. Mamoru liked her. Helikedher helikedher helikedher! And… she liked him, too. Had for some time now. And not just because of the memories, either. This was _her_ feelings, she could tell. They were raw and real, compared to the remembered feelings, which had always felt like when you _read_ about two people falling in love, or watch it on tv or something. You know they’re in love, but you just don’t _feel_ it the same way.

As Usagi lay there, she heard her family calling out ‘good night’, and she called back to them each time. She started to doze, but then her eyes shot open, even as she stayed still, at the sound of her window creaking open, and the light thump of the four paws of a certain feline landing on her floor.


	4. Third Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Usagi wakes up one night, memories of both the Silver Millennium and Neo Tokyo in her head. How will having these memories change her future as Sailor Moon, as well as the future of Neo Crystal Tokyo? UsaXMamo, manga based with personal tweaks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya! New chapter ready! I gotta admit, though, I’m not entirely happy with it. But hey, it’s done, and I don’t really feel like rewriting it again. Still, this is where everyone learns what my Naruto fic fans already know… That I suck at fight scenes. :P They annoy me so much!

Her heart was beating rapidly as she heard and _felt_ Luna pad across her room, then jump up onto her bed. There was silence for awhile, then a soft voice said, “Usagi-san, I know you’re awake.”

Usagi froze, then reluctantly rolled onto her other side, eyes meeting Luna’s stern and steady gaze. After a few minutes of just staring, Usagi sat up, with Luna coming a bit closer.

“You spoke,” Usagi said, more as a statement than anything else.

“I did,” Luna confirmed. “I have been looking for you, Usagi-san, for some time now. I must thank you for earlier. With that band-aid on, I was unable to speak, or access my abilities, either. There sure are some bratty kids around here, and their little prank put me in quite a bind. I am quite glad that I ran into you.”

“Why are you here?” Usagi asked, even though she knew the answer.

“I have been searching for some time now, for the Legendary warriors, the Senshi, whose duty it is to defend the Moon Princess,” Luna spoke. “You are the first one I’ve found. _You_ are Sailor Moon.”

“But, how could you know that?” Usagi asked.

“I am bound by Destiny to recognise the Senshi when they appear before me,” Luna said. “I needed to be sure, of course, so I have been following you for the past few days, to make sure that I had the right person. And I do!”

Luna did her little somersault, and a golden brooch appeared. Usagi instantly recognised her brooch, her _first_ transformation brooch. “Bound by destiny,” she repeated, then looked up at Luna. “So you saw me, and instantly thought, ‘that’s a Senshi’?”

Luna gave her an odd look. “Yes,” she said. “You are the Senshi of the Moon, there’s no doubt about it. Pick up the brooch and call out, _Moon Prism Power Make Up_. Then you will see.”

Usagi’s fingers twitched to reach for the brooch laying innocuously, yet she hesitated. Could she _really_ do this? She wavered for a second, then thought of Naru and the fact that she was probably in danger _right now_… Reaching out, she let her fingers brush over the smooth, cool metal, before she took hold of it. The four coloured orbs around the brooch made it easy to grasp firmly, with it fitting perfectly in her hand. Usagi felt a sense of rightness from holding it.

“You have been chosen to be a Senshi,” Luna told her. “Usagi-san, you have a mission! You have allies to gather, and enemies to defeat. Not only that, but you also have a Princess to find and protect.”

Usagi pushed her sheets back and stood, a little unsteady in her nervousness. Was she really ready for this? Taking a deep breath, she held the brooch up and called (quietly, there were people asleep, after all) “Moon Prism Power Make Up!”

The feeling of the transformation washing over her filled her with a sense of peace and contentment, alongside one of danger and foreboding. It took barely a second, but with the sensations came a sort of slowing of time, for her perception at least. So it seemed to her for a moment that it took longer. But Usagi knew from her memories that that wasn’t how it was to an outsider looking on.

(Mamoru and a few others had told her over the years, apparently.)

Usagi stared down at her now transformed self, feeling a little in awe at it all. Then she stepped over to her vanity and had a look in the mirror. “The skirt really _is_ too short,” she muttered, remembering some complaints from Rei and Ami over the first year before they got used to it.

She turned to Luna, who looked entirely too smug at the sight before her that proved she was right. Usagi was about to say something, but then suddenly she could hear _Naru_ crying out, “Help! Someone help! Okaa-san is…!”

Usagi could also suddenly _see_ what was happening through the mask on her face, and she quickly tore it away, though she kept it in her hand. “Naru-chan!” she exclaimed, and started for the window.

“Sailor Moon, where are you going?” Luna asked, following her.

“I can hear Naru-chan!” she said as she stepped onto the window sill. “She’s in danger!”

“Ah!” Luna said. “It’s the gems on your hair buns, they’re allowing you to hear when someone is in danger due to the Dark Kingdom. Well, let’s go then! This is what I gave you the brooch for, after all!”

Usagi kept an eye on the scene that was still playing out in the mask, making sure that she didn’t get there too late. Osa-P wasn’t too far away, and she made it there in record time. She barged into the store, immediately seeing the youma leering over Naru, ready to move in for the kill. Fear almost overwhelmed her, but then it was desperately pushed it aside in favour of the overwhelming desire to save her friend.

“Hey you ugly old hag!” Usagi commanded. “Get away from Naru-chan, right now!”

The ugliest, most disgusting face that Usagi had ever seen in her life, dreams notwithstanding, turned to face her. “Who the hell do you think you are to order me?” it snarled.

“I’m Sailor Moon,” Usagi said. “I’m here to put a stop to your schemes!”

“Ha!” the youma laughed. “Sailor Moon? Never heard of you. And no one ever will again. My minions! Awaken and come to me!”

There was nothing for a few seconds, and Usagi was about to rush at the youma, but then the store was slowly being filled with brainwashed people. How had they gotten here so quickly? She hadn’t seen them nearby when she’d arrived. Usagi gasped at the sight of Yumiko and Kuri among them. But she had no time to dwell on that, as suddenly they were all leaping at her, even as the youma called for them to kill her. Usagi called on her training in jujitsu to leap out of the way, dodging an attack from a lady with a broken glass bottle.

Luna leapt up, landing on her head. “You’ve got to fight them, Usagi-chan!” she said.

“I can’t!” Usagi argued as she dodged even more coming at her. “They’re innocent victims! I have to _save_ them!”

“And how are you going to do that?” Luna asked.

Usagi dodged again, and Luna, perched precariously upon her head, instinctively used her claws to hold on to her. Usagi shrieked in pain at the claws digging into her head, then was startled silent when her shriek had been amplified by her hair gems.

‘_Oh right,_’ she thought, remembering what had happened that _other_ time. So, channelling her voice through her hair gems, Usagi let out a long, piercing shriek that shattered glass and caused the youma to wail in pain. All the people it had been controlling fell to the ground in a slump.

“Argh!” the youma cried. “Make it stop! Make it stop!”

Usagi’s sonic waves had reduced the youma to a quivering mess. She stopped shrieking and stared at it, amazed at how affected it was.

“Now’s your chance!” Luna said, tapping her head briefly, before leaping off of her and to the side. “You can use your tiara to destroy it! Just call out _Moon Tiara Boomerang_!”

The tiara came off easily when she reached for it, then Usagi channelled her power into it, calling out the words that Luna had spoken. The tiara glowed, she threw it, and when it hit the youma, she melted away into nothing but dust.

“I did it,” Usagi said almost in shock, a smile slowly forming on her lips.

“Congratulations, Sailor Moon,” came a new voice, and Usagi froze ever so briefly before she whipped around to see Mamoru, _Tuxedo Mask_, standing in a window. “I didn’t find the ginzuishou I was looking for, but I _did_ find something else very interesting.”

The two of them stared at one another, then he smirked. “I am Tuxedo Mask,” he told her. “I’ll be watching for you, Sailor Moon.”

Then he was gone, off into the night.

OoOoO

After making sure that Naru, her mother, and all the people who’d been wearing the cursed jewellery would be alright, Usagi booked it out of there, headed straight for home.

Usagi snuck back into her bedroom with ease. Luna followed shortly after as Usagi de-transformed. Flopping onto her bed, she let out an exhausted groan, burying her face in her pillow. That fight was _so _much more exhausting than she’d thought it would be, and she just wanted to sleep now. Unfortunately, it seemed Luna wasn’t going to let her.

“That was well done, Sailor Moon,” she said. “But that was only the first fight. There are going to be more battles down the road, and you are going to need to be prepared for them.”

Usagi turned her head to look at Luna. “How are we going to prepare?” she asked.

“With intensive training,” Luna told her. “I know that you are already taking classes for self defence, and that’s admirable. But there is a more… spiritual, I guess you could say, side to being a Senshi. Have they taught you meditation techniques in your classes?”

Usagi reluctantly sat up and nodded. “It’s not a main focus,” she said, “but we are encouraged to keep it up. I, er, haven’t actually been doing that. Not lately, at least.”

“Well, you should start again,” Luna told her. “By focusing some more on meditation, you should be able to develop a focus that will help you with your powers in fights. Senshi have multiple attacks in their arsenal, and meditation, alongside training these powers, is a handy tool for unlocking them.”

Usagi nodded, then asked, “Luna-san, how will you recognise the Princess?”

This was something she _really_ wanted to know, since Usagi was pretty sure that her ‘mother’ hadn’t actually intended for her daughter to become a Senshi. Sure, it had helped hide her at first, until she got used to her powers. But Luna had said, in that other time line, that she was _surprised_ that Usagi had been able to become a Senshi in the first place. As the Princess, she was a natural pacifist, and the Senshi were _warriors_, the opposite of that. According to what she’d remembered at the time.

Luna right now, meanwhile, was looking a bit sheepish. “To be honest, I’m not sure,” she admitted. “After I was awoken, I quickly realised that I have a lot of missing memories, a sort of amnesia. I know they’re there, and I have unlocked a few since I woke. For instance when I saw you, I felt a connection. I’m not sure how I knew, but a part of me could recognise that you were a Senshi.”

Suddenly Luna’s head snapped up. “Wait,” she said. “I haven’t actually said my name yet. How did you know?”

Usagi froze, realising that was true, and she internally berated herself for slipping up. But… Luna _had_ mentioned her name last time, hadn’t she? Her eyes widened slightly at this small difference, _before_ she’d even done anything to majorly affect events. Sighing, she realised that she was going to have to come clean with Luna. Usagi hopped off the bed and went over to her wardrobe, opening it and reaching in to pull out one of her boxes with her drawings in it. She took it over to the bed, where Luna was watching her curiously.

“This is how I know,” Usagi said as she withdrew a picture of Luna and Artemis, from the Moon Kingdom.

Luna gaped at the picture. “What…? How…? _When_ did you do this?” she stuttered.

Usagi checked the back, since she always wrote the date on her pictures. “Seven months ago,” she said, then pulled out another, then another. “These are the Inner Senshi, the Outer Senshi… Oh! This one is the palace of the Moon Kingdom! It was _so_ beautiful there, I don’t know if I could ever do it justice…”

Luna’s jaw had dropped in shock. “Usagi-san,” she managed to say, interrupting the picture show, “_how_ have you done this?”

Usagi looked down and away, biting her lower lip, before looking Luna square in her red eyes. “I remember, Luna,” she said. “I remember _everything_ from the Silver Millennium. Ever since I was eleven.”

Luna was flabbergasted. “How…?” she squeaked out, before clearing her throat and asking, “Do you have a picture of the Moon Princess?”

“In this box?” Usagi thought a moment before she shuffled through the pictures, before pulling one out. “This is the only one. Queen Serenity, her husband, Prince Oberon, and their daughter Princess Serenity. She was two months old at the time. I… I based it off a tapestry that hung in the private living areas of the palace.”

Luna stared down at it, a wistful expression on her face, then glanced over at the one with the Inner Senshi. “Why didn’t you add Sailor Moon?” she asked, patting it lightly with her paw. “You would have been an Inner Senshi, correct?”

Usagi took a deep breath, steeling herself before saying, “There was no Senshi of the Moon in the past.”

Luna was shocked again. “Then how…?” she stopped herself and cleared her throat. “Do you know _why_ there wasn’t?”

“The Moon Kingdom had its own Royal Guard,” Usagi told her. “Their duty was to protect the Queen and her Prince Consort, as well as the palace and its grounds. The Inner Senshi were assigned to the Queen’s daughter as her companions and protectors until the time came when she would marry. I suppose there _could have_ been a Moon Senshi, but there was never really any need for her, what with the Silver Millennium being at peace for so long.”

Luna was absorbing this all intently, and Usagi watched her a moment before she went back to her wardrobe, looking for one particular box. When she found it, she sat down next to Luna, waiting for her to collect her thoughts. Luna eventually looked up at her, and Usagi opened the new box, rifling through it and pulling out a picture of the Princess.

“This is Princess Serenity,” she said. “Sixteen years old, one month before her death.”

Luna gasped, and Usagi couldn’t blame her. After all, aside from the fact that the Princess had silver hair and a lighter shade of blue eyes, Usagi and Serenity looked almost exactly the same. And the Queen shared similar traits to her daughter, though her father had passed on the shape of her face and her nose. Luna stared at the picture for so long, then she shifted her gaze up to Usagi.

“Does this mean, that _you’re_ the Princess?” she asked, eyes shining in hope.


	5. Fourth Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Usagi wakes up one night, memories of both the Silver Millennium and Neo Tokyo in her head. How will having these memories change her future as Sailor Moon, as well as the future of Neo Crystal Tokyo? UsaXMamo, manga based with personal tweaks.

Usagi sighed, and briefly closed her eyes, nodding before she opened them again. The look on Luna's face was one mixed with happiness, worry, and a little anger. Perhaps because she thought the Princess was a Senshi, and made her one? Probably.

Luna started pacing, muttering to herself a little, and Usagi's memories told her that she usually did this when she was confused, annoyed, stuff like that. She was no doubt berating herself for not recognising the difference between a Senshi and her Princess. Usagi sighed, wondering how she would take it if she knew everything that was _going _to happen. Should she tell her? After all, she already knew about her remembering the past…

"Luna-san," Usagi said. "Please stop worrying."

"How can I not worry?" Luna demanded, though her ire still seemed to be self directed. "I turned the Princess into a Senshi. A _Senshi!_ I was supposed to be able to recognise you for who you are, not think you were just a member of your guard!"

Usagi picked Luna up, halting her pacing, and hugged her. "Don't worry about it," she said, scratching her under the chin the way she remembered that she liked. "This is the way that it's supposed to be."

"How in any way are you _supposed to be_ a Senshi?" Luna asked, though Usagi could tell she was calming. "You are the royal Heir to the Moon Kingdom, not a warrior. This… this… this is _not_ how it's supposed to happen!"

Usagi sighed. She knew that she was going to have to tell her _everything_, if only because she had a feeling that it would be worse later, since she already knew this now. So she set Luna in front of her, looked her squarely in the eye, and said, "It _is_ supposed to happen, Luna-san, because I don't just remember the past, I also… remember, I suppose… the future as well."

Incomprehension was written all over the feline's face. "Wh-what…" Luna cleared her throat and asked, "Could you please explain what you mean by that?"

Usagi sighed, and closed her eyes briefly, before saying, "When I remembered everything from a thousand years ago, I also gained the memories of a thousand years from now."

Luna stared at her for a while, then sighed, laying down and resting her paws over her head. "This is _not_ what I expected when I came here tonight," she muttered. "It's not something I _ever_ could have expected!"

Suddenly she sat up. "So this would mean you know who and where all the other Senshi are?" she asked.

Usagi nodded. "Sailor Mars lives at the Hikawa jinja with her grandfather, of this time," she said. "Her name's Hino Rei. And Sailor's Mercury and Jupiter will be moving here soon and going to my school. They're Mizuno Ami and Kino Makoto."

"And what of Sailor Venus?" Luna asked when Usagi fell silent briefly.

"She's with Artemis-san," Usagi said, and saw the wide, longing look at the mention of Luna's Mauian partner. "He awoke her about a year ago, and she's been posing as Sailor V. Her name's Aino Minako."

Luna sighed, and Usagi detected a bit of frustration. "Turning Sailor Venus into a manga character," she muttered. "_Typical_ behaviour!" She let out a scoff.

"So," Usagi asked after a moment of silence, "what do you think we should do?"

"Well, for starters, you're going to tell me everything you know about the Dark Kingdom," the feline said. "Then… we'll plan from there."

Usagi stood, saying wait here a moment, then left the room, tiptoeing down the hall to the study. There, she had a lot of canvases and boxes of her art and supplies. Kaa-san and tou-san had converted it into a sort of studio for her once she started painting, it had just been a spare room slash storage room, before that. She opened the door quietly, then headed straight for a particular box. It was one she'd stored the bulk of her Dark Kingdom pictures in.

She took it back to her room, all the while trying not to wake anyone, though that bump into the door frame was _almost _loud enough to wake her light-sleeper mother. Once back in her room, she started taking out the drawings in them.

"Okay," she said. "I drew a lot of what will happen. Though, who knows what could change. But these," she pulled out a picture of the four shitennou, "are the Shitennou. They're currently brainwashed and fighting for the Dark Kingdom. I want to save them, but… I'm not sure how. Anyway, that's Jadeite-san, Nephrite-san, Zoisite-san, and Kunzite-san."

"Who are the shitennou?" Luna asked as she seemed to memorise their faces.

"They're the loyal guard of Earth's Prince, Endymion," Usagi said. "They were sent forward at the end of the Silver Millennium just as we all were. But Metalia and Beryl found them already and took them to serve the Dark Kingdom."

Luna's face was twisted in concentration, like she was trying her _hardest_ to remember them. "Earth's Prince," she muttered. "Earth's Prince."

She began pacing back and forth, muttering under her breath, before she stopped and sat back in front of the pictures. "I think… I remember a bit more now," she said. "Earth was a neutral planet, wasn't it? But there were riots and dissent among the general populace, weren't there?"

Usagi nodded. "The people of Earth didn't trust the Lunar Kingdom," she confirmed. "But they were also being stirred up by Metalia. She wanted to rule the Earth and conquer the Silver Millennium."

Luna sighed, then her ears pricked up as Usagi suddenly yawned. "Put the box away, and go to bed," she said. "We can talk more on this in the morning… Princess."

Usagi nodded and put all the pictures back into the boxes, then put those boxes into her cupboard. "Please just call me Usagi, Luna-san," she said. "I'm not a Princess here, okay? Just an ordinary teenaged girl."

"…Alright, Usagi-chan," Luna conceded. "Sleep, we'll talk more in the morning."

Usagi got into bed, closing her eyes and allowing herself to drift off. She smiled as she registered that Luna curled up next to her, and the two of them drifted off into sleep.

OoOoO

The next morning Usagi woke before her alarm to find Luna going through her pictures. She sighed as she got up, grabbing her uniform and heading into the bathroom. She could hear Shingo still snoring, but knew the annoying brat would be up soon. When she returned to her room, she found that Luna had put away the pictures and was waiting for her on her bed.

"You've got quite a comprehensive collection of art on the Dark Kingdom," Luna said. "There's… Well, there are a _lot_ of youma here. Did you fight them all?"

Usagi nodded. "There was always at least two a week," she said. "Mostly at night at first, but then they showed up during the day, too. Jadeite-san tended to release them at night, Nephrite-san would mix it up, and Zoisite-san and Kunzite-san mostly worked during the day. I think by the time Nephrite-san was in charge of releasing the youma, they'd figured out that the Senshi and I were all still in school. We still managed to beat them, though we got into trouble a couple of times for sneaking out of class."

Luna sighed, but nodded. "Can't be helped," she said, then asked, "What of the ginzuishou? Do you know where it is?"

Usagi closed her eyes and sighed. "I have it," she admitted. "But it's locked away inside me. I… I really don't want to unlock it yet. It's too dangerous, and with it being one of the goals of the Dark Kingdom, it's safer where it is. _I'm_ safer as well."

Luna sighed and conceded that point. "Very well," she said. "We'll concentrate for now on finding ways to defeat the Dark Kingdom. We'll need to discuss what you remember in more depth at a later point, find things to change from what you remember… And possibly things _not_ to change. Is there anything different already?"

Usagi nodded. "_I'm_ different," she said. "Before, I was… well honestly, I was lazy and not all that good in school. Plus, I never did jujitsu or art before. Also… You _did_ tell me your name when you gave me my brooch the first time."

Luna 'hm-ed' thoughtfully. "We'll need to keep an eye on things," she said. "Even small changes could have a drastic effect, and we could lose the advantage of foreknowledge you currently have. But I think that's also a discussion best had for when we have more time. Should you be getting down to breakfast now?"

Usagi looked at her clock and saw that Luna was right. "Oh, I'd better do that," she said, and moved to start getting ready.

"So, how did we do this before?" Luna asked. "Was I staying here with you? If so, how did I integrate with your family?"

"You did," Usagi said as she put together her school things. "I brought you home after today, and asked kaa-san if we could keep you. She was in a _really_ good mood that day… today, I suppose… for some reason, so she didn't even argue. But I think… Maybe I could ask her and tou-san this morning?"

"If you think that's best," Luna said, leaping up into Usagi's arms as she headed down for breakfast.

When they were downstairs, Usagi called out, "Kaa-san! I found a neko-chan yesterday! Can I keep her?"

Her mother poked her head out of the kitchen, spatula in hand, and eyeballed Luna. "Ooh! What a cute little kitty!" she cooed, scratching Luna under the chin. "Of course you can, sweetie!"

Usagi grinned smugly at how easy her mother was to win over. Once Tsukino Ikuko agreed to something, the rest of the household followed, _or else_.

"Oh, thank you!" Usagi said. "Her name's Luna-chan, and I _promise_ I'm gonna be a good pet owner, you'll see!"

"I know you will, dear," her mother said, returning to the kitchen. "Now, come and get breakfast."

Usagi shared her breakfast with Luna, watching in amusement as her father _tried_ to argue Luna's presence, giving in under a combination of Usagi's puppy-dog eyes, and his wife's glares. Shingo's only complaint was that he wanted a pet too, and kaa-chan promised to take him to a pet store, though the line was toed at dogs (because tou-san was allergic), and anything dangerous or gross, like snakes, bugs, and other things like that.

Time came for Usagi to go to school, and once she was out the door, Luna snuck out to catch up, leaping up into her arms. "While you're at school," she said, "I'm going to search for the other Senshi. Since you gave me their names last night, it should be much easier than it has been already."

Usagi nodded. "If you want, we can go to the Hikawa jinja after school," she said. "We can see Rei-san, and maybe talk to her about being Sailor Mars?"

Luna nodded. "A good idea," she said, but before she could say anything else, she was interrupted.

"Usagi-chan!"

Usagi's heart thumped a bit loudly for a beat or two, and she turned to see Mamoru coming her way. "M-Mamoru-san," she stuttered slightly, then smiled shyly up at him.

"Can… can I walk you to school?" he asked, and Usagi nodded without even needing to think about it.

Then he noticed Luna. "Oh, you have a cat, Usagi-chan?" he asked.

Usagi nodded. "Her name's Luna-chan," she said. "She followed me home yesterday, and kaa-san said I can keep her."

Mamoru pet Luna at the top of her head and on her cheek. Luna _purred_ into it, and Usagi made note of how much she seemed to like that sort of pet.

"Hello Luna-chan," Mamoru greeted her as the cat _nuzzled_ his hand.

But then, Luna had always liked Mamoru's scratches, Usagi remembered, pouting and feeling a bit left out.

"So, school?" she said, and Mamoru withdrew his hand.

As they walked, that same hand came up to grasp hers, and they travelled in silence, even past the point he usually broke off to go to his own school. He walked her all the way to the front gate of her middle school, ignoring some students who spotted them holding hands and began whispering and pointing, then reluctantly let her go.

"See you this afternoon, Usagi-chan," he said, smiling down at her, then he turned to go to his high school.

"B-bye, Mamoru-kun!" she called, daring to change the san, to kun.

He turned and waved to her with a grin, then was gone. Usagi sighed dreamily, only to shriek in surprise when she was glomped by Naru. Luna hissed and jumped down out of harms way.

"Usagi-chan!" she squealed. "Mamoru-san was _holding your hand!_ Are you two dating now?"

"I-I don't know," Usagi admitted, beet red. "He hasn't actually _asked_ yet. Not officially."

Naru sighed dreamily. "But I bet he will," she said wistfully. "Man. I wish I could have a cool, upperclassman as my boyfriend."

Naru floated into the school yard on a cloud of wishes, even as Usagi stood there, still quite red, watching her go. "Usagi-chan," Luna said, and she looked up to see the feline on the brick fence. "That boy… I recognise him from your drawings. He's Prince Endymion, isn't he?"

Usagi nodded, and Luna sighed. "Go to class now," Luna said. "I have a _lot_ of research to do before we meet up afterwards. See you this afternoon, Usagi-chan."

"Bye, Luna-chan," Usagi said, and headed in to class.


	6. Fifth Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Usagi wakes up one night, memories of both the Silver Millennium and Neo Tokyo in her head. How will having these memories change her future as Sailor Moon, as well as the future of Neo Crystal Tokyo? UsaXMamo, manga based with personal tweaks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I've got a new chapter ready. I had a whole bunch of it done, but the scene at the end with Rei gave me a whole lot of headaches.

Class that day was nothing out of the ordinary, other than Naru telling _everyone_ about her adventures the previous night. The news of the youma attack, and the new Sailor Suited Heroine, Sailor Moon (that was the headline that had been on her tou-san's newspaper that morning), was already spreading throughout Tokyo's Azabu-Juban, including her school, with its teenaged population so naturally inclined towards gossip, soaking up every little thing they could about it. Umino had already set up a website dedicated to the subject.

He was such a _nerd_.

Usagi obligingly 'oohed' and 'aahed' for her best friend, and even promised to walk with Naru home to her family shop after school. Of course, she had to go with Luna to the Hikawa Jinja as well, but she knew Rei would be busy for a bit at first, and wanted to wait until the miko would be doing her chores, when it would be less likely for them to be interrupted.

So as soon as school ended, Naru was dragging Usagi off, with Yumiko and Kuri having to stay back in detention with a couple of others for a rather heated 'discussion' they'd all gotten into in their sciences class. Umino narrowly missed out on joining them, only the fact that he had clubs to attend saving him from their sensei's wrath. Being the teacher's pet often paid off for him in this way.

Stepping into Osa-P, which had a closed sign up, and several workmen inside, Usagi stared wide eyed at the damage that had been caused by last night's fight, a small stab of guilt hitting her at the sight of where her amplified shrieks had shattered glass. There was a _lot _of damage, though she knew it had mostly been the youma that caused this.

"Naru-chan!"

The two of them turned to see Osaka-san coming towards them, all professionally done up, a change from when Usagi had seen her last night. The woman was pale and thin, and there were bags under her eyes that her makeup barely hid.

"Okaa-san!" Naru exclaimed. "I thought you were taking it easy today!"

Osaka-san waved away her daughter's concern. "I'm fine," she told her. "Besides, it's not like I'm really doing anything. It's all these strapping young men who are working hard today. Thank goodness I'm friends with Yuki-san, or it might have been a few more days before I could get anyone in to assess and repair the damage."

Naru sighed. "Alright, okaa-san," she said. "As long as you're not pushing yourself. That monster had you down there for three days!"

Osaka-san pinched her daughter's cheeks, causing Naru to blush in embarrassment and try to wriggle away. "Oh, my cute little Naru-chan!" she exclaimed, then noticed Usagi. "Oh, Usagi-chan! Did you come over to study with Naru-chan?"

"I wanted to see how you were doing, Osaka-san," Usagi told her. "Also, kaa-san asked me to tell you that if you need anything, just ask."

"Oh, that's so sweet of Ikuko-san," Osaka-san said. "We're fine, though."

"It must have been terrible," Usagi said, "being held captive by that monster…"

"Thankfully I don't remember much of it," Osaka-san said. "And also thankfully, all the jewellery that monster sold were ones they'd brought in, rather than our own stock, so there's no loss. But I am working on tracking down those the monster swindled to give them refunds. Odd though, most of them don't seem to remember buying the jewellery…"

Usagi wondered if that was because of their energy being drained.

"Of course, there's the repair expenses," Osaka-san was saying, "but our profit margin should be more than enough to cover that, along with the insurance."

"You're insured for monster attacks?" Usagi asked, wide eyed and surprised, but Naru's mother chuckled.

"Of course not," she said, "but it's technically covered under a vandalism clause, so we'll be fine."

Usagi nodded just as Naru came back downstairs from dropping her school bags off. She'd changed too. "Did you want to stick around and hang out, Usagi-chan?" she asked.

Shaking her head, Usagi said, "I really should get going. I'm really glad you're okay, Osaka-san."

Usagi hugged Naru, bowed to Osaka-san, and then left. She headed in the direction of the Hikawa jinja to meet up with Luna, her thoughts all over the place with Naru, her mother, jewellery, and the possibilities of getting _actual_ monster insurance. She was so distracted, she wasn't watching where she was going, and collided with an immovable brick wall.

Or at least… what seemed to be one.

"Usagi-chan," came a familiar voice, and she looked up to see that she'd actually collided with Mamoru, and _not_ a brick wall.

"Mamoru-kun," she greeted him shyly.

"Did you just come from Naru-chan's?" he asked.

Usagi nodded as they started walking, easily falling into step together, with her reaching out to grab his hand for a change. "I wanted to see how Osaka-san was doing," she said. "It must have been terrible, having a monster taking her place like that. But fortunately, she doesn't remember much of the experience."

"That's good," Mamoru said, then asked with a grin, "Have you heard all the news and gossip about the super hero who saved them last night?"

"She was all Naru-chan could talk about today," Usagi said with a giggle. "Well, her and the monster."

Mamoru's brow rose, and Usagi, feeling a bit bold, added, "Also, there was apparently some guy in a tuxedo, top hat, and mask there too."

"Oh?" he asked, and Usagi could tell he was nervous suddenly.

"Yup," she told him. "Apparently he showed up when she started coming to."

"What, er… What did he do?" Mamoru asked, his free hand reaching up and scratching the back of his head. (he'd tried to withdraw his hand from Usagi's but she'd held on tight)

Usagi shrugged. "Naru-chan couldn't say, her head was apparently ringing a bit still," she told him, then gave a dramatic sigh. "It sounds so romantic, though, doesn't it? A masked hero come to save the day, and back up the heroine."

"Back up?" Mamoru asked, his amusement at that getting past his awkwardness over the tuxedo and mask (not a very original Hero name for him, Usagi decided, considering). "How do _you_ know he didn't perform some heroic feat of his own?"

"Naru-chan said that Sailor Moon (that's what she called herself, Mamoru-kun, I swear!) was the one who beat the monster," Usagi said. "The guy didn't really do anything."

She could see him warring with himself over her view of Tuxedo Mask, and she decided to put him at ease. "Don't worry, Mamoru-kun," she said. "I'm sure he did something, Naru-chan must've just missed it."

Of course, he _hadn't_ done anything, but Mamoru didn't need to know that she knew that… Yet. But she did plan on telling him that she knew, and about everything. But maybe when she wasn't headed off to meet Luna and Rei?

They came to the corner where Usagi usually turned off into to go home when she'd been to Naru's, and Mamoru had automatically started to turn that way. But Usagi was headed to Hikawa, and was therefore headed for that one bus stop that would take her directly there.

"Not heading home?" Mamoru asked when Usagi gave his hand a light tug.

"I'm going to Hikawa jinja," she told him. "Bus stop's this way."

Mamoru's brow rose, but he followed after her.

The bus was only a few minutes away, according to Usagi's watch, and she looked down when she felt something soft brush her leg. Luna was here, obviously having waited for her, though the look in her eyes showed that she hadn't expected Mamoru to be there also. Usagi also tried to convey with a look that she hadn't expected it either, but she wasn't entirely sure Luna'd gotten the message…

"Isn't that your cat?" Mamoru asked as Usagi let go of his hand to pick Luna up. "You know, animals aren't allowed on public transport."

"They are if they're assistance animals," Usagi corrected him as he once again scratched Luna in just the right way. "Not that Luna-chan qualifies for that, I'm just saying."

Luna accepted Mamoru's scratches, then wriggled her way into Usagi's school bag. When the bus turned up, Mamoru gave the bag a strange look, but didn't say anything otherwise. Once on there, they sat together, and Mamoru asked her about her day, and when she thought she'd go to the arcade again. Basically he was making small talk, all the while holding her hand, and stealing her breath slightly by rubbing circles on her skin with his thumb.

Her stop came up, and Usagi stood, relaxing her grip on his hand. But as she started moving away, Mamoru held tighter and he pulled her back.

"Wait, Usagi-chan…"

It seemed like he was going to say something, but then thought better of it. "Later," he said with a shake of his head. "I'll talk with you when I see you next."

Usagi smiled and let go of his hand. "Bye, Mamoru-kun," she said, and hopped off the bus.

All the way up to the steps of the jinja, Usagi wondered over what it was that Mamoru'd wanted to tell her.

OoOoO

Luna had wriggled her way out of her bag by the time they reached the steps. Usagi stepped nervously up each one, counting them in her head until she reached the top. She had no idea what she was going to say to Rei! How do you tell someone that they're meant to fight monsters and protect crystals and… and… She glanced down at Luna.

"Hey Luna-chan," she said. "Do you know what we can say to Rei-san? I've got no idea."

"Don't worry, Usagi-chan," Luna told her, "I've already worked out what we can say."

Now, Usagi felt a bit better about it, though she was still nervous.

As they made their way over to the shrine, Usagi looked around, noticing all the things that you'd expect in a Shinto shrine. Her family went to the Mita Kasuga shrine whenever her father determined that they were getting behind spiritually. That place was much more popular than the Hikawa shrine, and generally had a lot more people. Well… except that one time Rei's grandfather pulled a genius marketing scheme that saw their numbers peak higher than Mita Kasuga, for a couple of weeks, then it went back to normal.

Well it will, when he does that in about a year? Yes, a year.

She knew where Rei would be at that moment, if she kept to her schedule. Her grandfather would be in the shrine, praying and away from where he would see or overhear them talking to Rei. The miko herself would be behind the temple, having finished her main chores, and now working on her meditation in the relative peace behind the shrine. Usagi kept an eye out for anyone paying attention as she and Luna slipped behind the shrine.

She was all ready to go up to Rei and have Luna start on her spiel, but then a voice spoke right behind her, causing her to jump in fright and let out a little squeal. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" Usagi turned to see Rei glaring at her. "This area is off limits to the public."

"I, um, well, you see, uh…" Usagi's tongue was tied and she stuttered, not really making all that great an impression, but then Luna stepped up.

"We need to talk to you," she told Rei, whose eyes bugged only slightly at the sight of a talking cat. "My name is Luna, and I have been searching for girls like you, who are destined to be soldiers to fight the Darkness. Perhaps you've already heard the talk of Sailor Moon, who fought a creature from the Dark Kingdom only last night. You, Hino Rei, are one of these soldiers. You, are Sailor Mars."

Rei stared at Luna, then at Usagi, then back at Luna. "You have _got_ to be kidding me," she said flatly. "Is this a joke? There's no way I'm this Sailor Mars."

"This is no joke," Luna said, her tone stern. "You are Sailor Mars, you're a soldier sworn to the protection of the Moon Princess and her ginzuishou. If you don't believe me, then take this," she did a little flip here to produce Mars' transformation pen, "and call out 'Mars Star Power'! If nothing happens, then you were right, and we'll leave."

Rei eyed the pen off like it would bite her if she picked it up, but slowly reached for it, grasping it in her hand. She glanced at Usagi, who nodded encouragingly, then sighed. She held the pen out before her and said, "Mars Star Power!"

Instantly red lights flashed, and a moment later, Rei stood there in full Sailor Mars regalia. She gaped down at herself, glancing up briefly to Usagi and Luna to check and see if they were seeing this too, then she groaned.

"I guess the Great Fire was right, then," she said.

Now Luna gaped at her and Usagi guessed shrewdly, "You Saw this, didn't you? In the Fire?"

Rei nodded. "I'd hoped it was wrong but…" she sighed. "I guess it was really real after all."

Usagi nodded. "Sorry," she said. "But you're not in this alone. You've got me and Luna-chan, and the others when they get here too."

Rei nodded, then Usagi asked, "How much did you See in the Fire?"

"I Saw you, myself, and three others facing a great evil," Rei said. "I also saw a Prince and Princess, though when I saw the Princess, you actually vanished. I think… You're that Princess, aren't you?"

Usagi was quite surprised by how much Rei knew. This was… this was _different_. She shared a glance with Luna and saw that the feline was also concerned with this change. Usagi had, after all, explained how each Senshi had been called before, any change threatened their foreknowledge, even if there were some things that _had_ to be different.

"Is there somewhere more private we can talk?" Luna asked. "We have a lot to discuss."


	7. Sixth Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Usagi wakes up one night, memories of both the Silver Millennium and Neo Tokyo in her head. How will having these memories change her future as Sailor Moon, as well as the future of Neo Crystal Tokyo? UsaXMamo, manga based with personal tweaks.

Usagi and Luna had a good long talk with Rei about what she knew, and it turned out, she had access to some of her memories from the Silver Millennium. Not all of them, though Luna had offered to unlock them, once Usagi had reminded her that she had that ability, and Rei said she'd think about it. Usagi asked Rei when she'd started remembering, turns out it was the same time that Usagi had remembered as well. Only Rei's memories weren't as complete, and she had no knowledge of the future.

Rei had been quite surprised at that bit of information, almost not believing her until Usagi showed her some drawings she'd done over the years of the coming future. She'd also shown the miko a picture of the shitennou, and made her swear black and blue that she wouldn't incinerate Jadeite this time around. After all, Usagi wanted Mamoru to have his shitennou back, alive and as unscathed as possible, if you'd please.

Usagi and Rei had then made plans to meet up at the Crown Arcade. Rei knew Motoki's sister Unazuki (Usagi had completely forgotten that!) so she knew where it was. The next day was Saturday, so their meeting would have to wait until after school. Usagi and Luna had farewelled Rei shortly after, and then caught a bus back to their neighbourhood. It was cutting rather close to the time Usagi had to be home by each day, but they made it with a few minutes to spare.

Right now, she sat in her last class of the day, art class. They were supposed to be drawing an interpretation of the _huge_ stuffed bear that their sensei had brought in with him today. Usagi's interpretation was dressing the bear in knight's armour to rescue a bear princess. It was a rough sketch, she wasn't really putting a whole lot of effort into it. Still, it was turning out pretty good anyway.

"Psst! Usagi-chan!"

Usagi looked up and over to where Naru, Yumiko, and Kuri were. It was Yumiko that was trying to get her attention.

'_What?_' Usagi mouthed, not wanting to draw their sensei's wrath.

"Are you going to the arcade today?" Yumiko asked, her voice still a whisper, and Usagi nodded.

Yumiko grinned, gave a thumbs up, and turned back to whisper and giggle with Kuri. Naru grinned at her, and Usagi grinned back.

"Alright!" their sensei spoke suddenly, startling Usagi. "I have some news. There's a competition coming up at a local gallery, for kids aged eight to sixteen. They've sent out the call to all the local schools, so if anyone wants to compete, the details will be on the school bulletin board in the main office. There are, of course, prizes for the winners, as well as recognition for each of the schools represented. I know there are a couple of you who would be more than capable of taking out one of these prizes, so if you're interested, sign up."

The bell rang then, the final one for the day, so instead of everyone staying and waiting for the next class, they packed their things together to get ready to head off home, or to school clubs. Or even to detention. Thankfully, Usagi didn't have a detention today, so she was able to head straight off with her friends. At least, she would have, if their sensei hadn't called her over. She shooed Naru, Yumiko, and Kuri away, and went over to the teacher's desk.

"Yes, Kondo-sensei?"

The sensei levelled her with a serious look. "Usagi-chan," he said. "I want you to seriously think about entering that art competition."

Usagi's eyes widened, and her jaw dropped. "M-me?!" she squeaked.

"Yes, you," he confirmed. "You are an amazing artist, Usagi-chan," she blushed furiously here. "I am quite confident that you could take out one of the top prizes."

She really didn't know what to say… "I… I'll think about it," she promised him.

"Go look at the information at the office," he told her. "The competition runs for the next three weeks, so there's plenty of time for you to create something. And you could even use one you've already done, if you wanted. Just… think about it, alright?"

Usagi nodded, and the sensei let her go. Outside, she ran into Naru and the others, who'd been waiting for her.

"What did Kondo-sensei want?" Naru asked.

"H-he… he wants me to seriously consider entering that art gallery competition," Usagi said in a small voice.

Naru's eyes widened. "Oh my kami!" she exclaimed. "You should _totally_ do it!"

"Wh-what?"

"Absolutely!" Kuri agreed.

"Naru-chan's right!" Yumiko piped up, then grabbed Usagi by the hand. "Come on, let's go over there now!"

The three of them dragged her over to the main office, ignoring her spluttering along the way. Once there, they saw that there were pamphlets with information on the competition, and after getting the go ahead from a sensei to take one, made Usagi read through it, with them reading over her shoulder.

"Ooh!" Kuri squealed. "First place gets a deal to show their work in… _The National Art Centre_!?"

That last bit was practically screeched into Usagi's ear, and everyone that wasn't Kuri flinched heavily. "Keep it down!" Yumiko complained. "That _was_ my ear drum!"

"B-but but but!"

"Quiet," Naru ordered, then turned to Usagi. "Usagi-chan, what do you want to do?"

Usagi was still quite stunned about the whole thing, but she forced herself to clam. What _did_ she want to do? With everything that was going on now… Did she really have the time for this? But then, maybe it could be a good thing, to sign up for it? And if she _didn't_ paint something new, then at least she had several other paintings that she could enter in, and she even knew which one she'd pick if it came down to that.

She glanced down at the pamphlet, then up at her friends, then over to the sign-up form. With a sort of detached determination, she walked over and wrote her name up on the form.

"Yay!" Kuri cheered, and hugged Usagi, before moving on to Naru and then Yumiko.

"Let's get going then," Naru said.

"To the arcade!" Yumiko declared. "We gotta celebrate!"

And she and Kuri marched off, Naru and Usagi following in their wake.

OoOoO

Once they arrived at the Crown, Usagi saw that Rei was already waiting there for her. She saw Luna poking her head out from behind the miko, who was scowling at the rather boisterous duo that was Yumiko and Kuri. The two had immediately headed over to the counter, ordering milkshakes, burgers and fries for themselves, getting all chatty and, in Yumiko's case, flirty with Motoki.

"Uh Naru-chan, this is Rei-chan," Usagi said, introducing her best friend to the miko. "I met her yesterday at Hikawa jinja."

"Nice to meet you," Naru said, smiling. "Please excuse Kuri-chan and Yumiko-chan. They have no filter. Or common sense, really."

"Uh… okay," Rei said. "So, you're Usagi-chan's friend?"

"Her _best _friend," Yumiko said as she passed by, towing Kuri over to a booth. "We're here to celebrate that Usagi-chan is entering a competition at a local art gallery."

"Really?" Rei asked. "I know you're talented, the pictures you showed me yesterday were… I mean, they were _really_ good."

"Usagi-chan is a genius with her art," Naru said, causing Usagi to blush heavily. "You should see some of her paintings some time, they're so good, you'd think a professional painted them."

"They're not _that_ great," Usagi mumbled, embarrassed. Naru always did like to talk up her art in front of people.

"Yes they _are_!" Naru argued, then sighed. "You always argue with me on this, but you'll see. When you win that competition, you'll finally understand. Until then… Motoki-san! We need shakes! And food too!"

Usagi vaguely heard Naru rattle off orders for the two of them as she turned to Rei. "Do you really think your drawings aren't that good?" Rei asked, frowning.

Shrugging, Usagi said, "I know I've got talent. I know everyone else likes them, but…"

Rei sighed. "As long as people like them, you know it's good," she said. "That's how things like art and other stuff work. But… Do you think you'll have the time to paint something? You know, with everything that's coming up?"

"I'm gonna try," Usagi said. "If I run out of time, there's a painting I've already done that can be a back up just in case."

Rei nodded and left it at that.

The next hour was spent with all five girls talking and playing video games. Naru declared that Rei was cool, which startled the miko and made her blush lightly. Then Kuri and Yumiko left, and Naru soon after that. Usagi had spent some of the time wondering if Mamoru was going to come in, but he hadn't shown up yet. She wondered where he was…

Usagi and Rei left the arcade soon after, headed for Usagi's house. Rei wanted to see the drawings that Usagi had at her house. The only one who would be home right now would be her mother, as Shingo the Twerp would be at his extracurricular classes until after six, and their father wouldn't be home until late tonight, he had some deadline due apparently.

"Kaa-san!" Usagi called as they entered the house and removed their shoes. "I'm home! I brought a friend over!"

Ikuko appeared from the kitchen, spatula in hand. "Oh!" she said at the sight of Rei. "Is this a new friend then? I was expecting Naru-chan when you hollered."

"This is Hino Rei-chan," Usagi introduced. "She wanted to see my artwork."

Ikuko smiled. "Oh, wonderful!" she said. "Well, I'll leave you two girls to it. Yell if you need anything!"

She disappeared then, and Usagi led Rei upstairs to her 'studio' after briefly dropping her school bag in her room.

"Wow, you've got quite the set up here," Rei remarked.

"It's even better, because Shingo-kun complained like crazy, but didn't get his own way when he wanted his own extra room too," Usagi told her rather smugly, as she moved over to pull out some boxes from the cupboard.

Luna, who'd followed them up, nudged the door closed joined them. "Which ones are those?" she asked as Usagi sat on the floor and began rummaging.

"This is a Silver Millennium box," Usagi told her. "Most of what's in here is all about the Senshi. The Inner Senshi, that is. Mercury to Jupiter."

Usagi handed over some drawings to Rei, who eagerly, but politely, grabbed at them. She went through them, staring at each one intently and moving on to the next, until she stopped at one in particular. She stared extra long at it, before her brow scrunched, as if she was trying to remember something. Usagi glanced over and saw it was one that included the shitennou.

"This… this seems familiar," she said.

"That was from the day when the Inner Senshi met the Shitennou," Usagi said. "No one was happy about having to work together, you were all only there for Endymion and Serenity."

"The prince and princess," Rei murmured. "You and… Endymion, did you say? Yes, that sounds right… We're all glaring."

Usagi giggled. "I did say no one was looking forward to it," she said. "You and Venus were especially unhappy with the arrangement."

Rei nodded distractedly, then moved on to the next picture, though not before glancing briefly at it once more.

They spent the next hour going through everything, with Luna interjecting at one point to get them to actually discuss their senshi duties.

"Honestly, I'd rather Usagi-chan didn't fight," Luna said as Rei sorted through pictures from the period when Galaxia was due to show up. "But from everything she's told us…"

"It would be best for her to fight," Rei finished as she put aside a picture of the shadowy form of Chaos. "Usagi-chan's the Princess, but with everything she knows… You're _not _going to stay out of the fights, are you?"

Usagi shook her head. "No way," she said. "No matter the fact that it's all terrifying, I'm doing it."

Shortly after, Usagi showed them the painting she was going to enter as a back up.

"What do you think?" she asked, self-conscious.

"It's… It's brilliant," Rei told her. "Is that… That's Serenity and Endymion, isn't it?"

Usagi nodded. "I only finished it four months ago," she said. "Since it's newer, I thought it would fit better to show the ability I have _now_."

Soon, it was time for Rei to leave, but Usagi was going to walk with her to her bus stop. "We're leaving, kaa-san!" Usagi called.

"Okay dear, be back before dinner!" Ikuko called back, and two girls and the cat left.

Usagi saw Rei off, then wandered a little aimlessly. She ended up back at the arcade, which was winding down from its busy afternoon period. Luna told her that she would head back home, and not to be out too late. Once Usagi was inside, she sat at the counter, nursing a milkshake. When the bell for the door went off, she didn't pay it much attention, at least until a voice greeted her, and she shot up on her stool.

"Usagi-chan," Mamoru greeted her.

"Mamoru-kun," she breathed, smiling.

"You're not taking any more buses to shrines today, are you?" he asked, and she shook her head. "Then… can we talk? Not here, though."

"Sure," Usagi said, and followed him out of the arcade.

They walked hand in hand until they reached a small park, and claimed a bench with a really nice view of a flower garden. Mamoru's spare hand came up to grip the hand he already held, his thumb brushing lightly along that little dip between her thumb and pointer finger. The light caress made her heart thump in her chest, and she stared down at their joined hands, unable to look away.

Usagi waited until Mamoru finally decided to speak, "I… Ever since I've met you, Usagi-chan, I've felt this pull to you. You're so fascinating, and I just… I just want to keep you close and never let you go."

Usagi's eyes were wide, and she wondered if he… Was he…? She swallowed hard as he turned to face her, and she couldn't help but stare up into his blue, blue eyes.

"I know that we hold hands, and I walk you to school in the morning if I catch you, but…" Now Mamoru swallowed thickly before he continued, "Usagi-chan, no… _Usako…_ Would you… be my girlfriend?"

She wanted to say yes, honestly! But no words formed, no matter how much she opened and shut her mouth. In the end, Usagi settled for nodding fervently, a rather vague part of her brain noting the sag of relief in Mamoru's shoulders at her affirmative.

"May I… May I kiss you, Usako?" he asked.

"Yes," Usagi said, finally finding her voice. "Yes you can… Mamo-chan."

Mamoru grinned happily and leaned down, connecting his lips to hers, and Usagi fell into an eternity of bliss.


End file.
